University of Minnesota Athletics
Player Profile: Outside Hitter Amanda Cipperly
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
"My teammates drive me to play and continue to work hard even though I do not get a lot of playing time," Cipperly said. "The chemistry and team dynamics here at Minnesota are amazing and it all comes together on game nights."
She went to her first Golden Gopher match with her grandparents when she was in the eighth grade and was immediately drawn to the ambiance of the Sports Pavilion. "The fans were amazing, the energy was incredible and the atmosphere was very unique," Cipperly recalled.
Her dedication to learning the game of volleyball paid off as she started to play when she was 12 with a junior club team. Most of the teams that she played on, Cipperly was automatically forced into a leadership role as she was considered to be the top player on her team, the go-to girl, the one with the most kills and the one with all of the pressure. That role changed when she began to play at Minnesota, but Cipperly has welcomed her new role with a positive attitude and understanding.
"I want to contribute so much, but I am limited with my playing time," Cipperly commented. "I love my teammates and would not wish to play over any of them because we all deserve to be here. We all have a role to play and I just hope that I am playing my role to the best of my ability."
Cipperly saw most of her playing time as a freshman, tallying 109 kills in 63 games, along with two double-doubles, with 10 kills and 10 digs in wins over Wisconsin-Green Bay and Northwestern. She has continued to prove her invaluable ability to the team every opportunity that she gets. Her understanding and ability to accept her role has provided Minnesota and head coach Mike Hebert with a strong and deep bench.
"We rely on her to come in like a relief pitcher, to stabilize our team," Hebert said. "She has a tough role coming off the bench and trying to keep the team in the game competitively, but that is the kind of player she is and that is what we expect from her." One example of the Gophers' depth was last season at Wisconsin. Cipperly came off the bench and had her most important contribution of the season with eight kills, six digs and three blocks to help Minnesota win at Madison for the first time since 1995. That win in five games and the eventual series sweep of Wisconsin fueled the Golden Gophers' Big Ten success in 2002.
"It felt like an out of body experience," Cipperly recalled. "I was very nervous, but I knew that if I was given the chance that I could go in off the bench and do something, that is my role on the team."
Cipperly is one of the reasons the University of Minnesota volleyball team has continued to grow with success at the national level. Her hard work, dedication, continued growth and understanding of the game have given the Golden Gophers many wonderful opportunities to shine.
Written by Media Relations Assistant Lisa Hardy. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu. For Amanda Cipperly, playing volleyball at the University of Minnesota had always been her dream, a dream that she knew would one day come true with a lot of hard work and dedication to the sport. That type of hard work and dedication included being able to adapt to different settings and roles on a team as teams at the collegiate level are changing year after year.
"My teammates drive me to play and continue to work hard even though I do not get a lot of playing time," Cipperly said. "The chemistry and team dynamics here at Minnesota are amazing and it all comes together on game nights."
She went to her first Golden Gopher match with her grandparents when she was in the eighth grade and was immediately drawn to the ambiance of the Sports Pavilion. "The fans were amazing, the energy was incredible and the atmosphere was very unique," Cipperly recalled.
Her dedication to learning the game of volleyball paid off as she started to play when she was 12 with a junior club team. Most of the teams that she played on, Cipperly was automatically forced into a leadership role as she was considered to be the top player on her team, the go-to girl, the one with the most kills and the one with all of the pressure. That role changed when she began to play at Minnesota, but Cipperly has welcomed her new role with a positive attitude and understanding.
"I want to contribute so much, but I am limited with my playing time," Cipperly commented. "I love my teammates and would not wish to play over any of them because we all deserve to be here. We all have a role to play and I just hope that I am playing my role to the best of my ability."
Cipperly saw most of her playing time as a freshman, tallying 109 kills in 63 games, along with two double-doubles, with 10 kills and 10 digs in wins over Wisconsin-Green Bay and Northwestern. She has continued to prove her invaluable ability to the team every opportunity that she gets. Her understanding and ability to accept her role has provided Minnesota and head coach Mike Hebert with a strong and deep bench.
"We rely on her to come in like a relief pitcher, to stabilize our team," Hebert said. "She has a tough role coming off the bench and trying to keep the team in the game competitively, but that is the kind of player she is and that is what we expect from her." One example of the Gophers' depth was last season at Wisconsin. Cipperly came off the bench and had her most important contribution of the season with eight kills, six digs and three blocks to help Minnesota win at Madison for the first time since 1995. That win in five games and the eventual series sweep of Wisconsin fueled the Golden Gophers' Big Ten success in 2002.
"It felt like an out of body experience," Cipperly recalled. "I was very nervous, but I knew that if I was given the chance that I could go in off the bench and do something, that is my role on the team."
Cipperly is one of the reasons the University of Minnesota volleyball team has continued to grow with success at the national level. Her hard work, dedication, continued growth and understanding of the game have given the Golden Gophers many wonderful opportunities to shine.
Written by Media Relations Assistant Lisa Hardy. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
